11 weeks

Matthew and I have successfully placed an offer and been accepted on new townhouse construction. Hopefully it will be ready in 11 weeks shortly after Matthew has started his new job and the bank says we're ready to become real adults. I give this caveat so as not to completely jinx myself, but as the clock ticks by, I can't help but look around my basement apartment and think, 11 weeks, in 11 weeks:

• I won't have to remind my friends and family that if they want to reach me they have to call me on my home phone because we don't get really any cell phone coverage in our apartment.
• I won't have to go outside to listen to voicemails or set my phone on the window ledge to send and receive text messages.
• I will live an above ground existence.
• I won't have to turn on all the lights in the middle of the day.
• Clothing will dry in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days.
• I won't wonder how to get rid of that mildew smell every time I walk in the door.
• I won't need to count out my quarters and wonder how many more weeks they'll last for laundry before needing to restock at my local bank.
• I'll have NEW carpeting, new appliances, and new hardware (nothing from before I was born).
• I won't have to curse that stupid car that keeps taking my parking spot when I leave for Seminary in the morning, forcing me to park at the outer edges of our lot.
• I won't smell everyone else's cooking every time I walk to my door.

But in an effort to be fair to my little apartment that really has met our needs for the last two years; in 11 weeks:

• I'll have over double the square feet and bathrooms to clean on a regular basis.
• I'll have to be a real adult and fix my own appliances, leaks, and other mishaps instead of calling the ever handy, prompt and very nice maintenance man.
• I'll have to remember to take out the trash cans on trash day.
• I'll have  lots of  stairs to contend with.

Thankfully list one is much longer than list two, or I think I might be in trouble. Here's hoping everything goes well for an 11 week departure, and that we won't be stuck in a hotel in Allentown.